The Single-Mom's Guide to Christmas Shopping

The holidays are here! Like most of you, I'm excited for the magic that the season brings and to share good food and great conversation with my wonderful family. But the holidays also bring anxiety, especially about affording gifts. In Monday's blog, I wrote about how to purchase and make thoughtful yet inexpensive gifts. Just as I sent it off to my editor, I got an email from my friend Aspy telling me how much she enjoyed reading my blogs and asking me how to give her children a good Christmas in this economy.

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"Is it possible?" she asked.

Like me, Aspy is a divorced mother of three and works tirelessly to provide for her children. She is one of the most hard-working people I know and makes many sacrifices to provide for her family. So I promised her that I would share what I've learned about being bargain-savvy when shopping for kids. And you don't have to be a single mom to take advantage of the ideas below––just willing to put in a bit of extra time and effort.

-Make a list of all the places that you shop for your kids, then go to each store's website and sign up to receive notifications about upcoming sales, secret bargains and other deals. Some stores even offer you $10 off your next purchase just for signing up. It's not fun to clog your email account with spam, but it's definitely worth it. Or, you could even create a separate email account reserved for these messages.

-When shopping online, never, EVER hit the checkout button without first going to online sites like couponcabin.com or retailmenot.com to see if there's a promo code. 30-50 percent off total purchases and free shipping awaits!

-Don't forget your local dollar store. It's amazing what you can find to fill stockings for only a buck. Make-up, army men, stationery, colorful fuzzy socks and toy cars are just some of the things I've stocked up on.

-Lastly, as Laura Rowley, a Financial Expert with Yahoo Finance reminds us, don't forget to align your spending with your values. Don't buy your kids things that will just end up in the trash next year. Think of thoughtful gifts that will make them happy and bring you closer together as a family.

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